FREEHOLD - Standing before the jury for the last time in a trial that consumed the summer, attorneys defending three men from allegations of crimes ranging from shoplifting to attempted murder implored the jury to assess the possibility of reasonable doubt and consider missing elements in the prosecutors' arguments.

Armed with wads of notes and emphatic hand gestures, the defense attorneys representing ex-cop Keith German and alleged gang members Haneef Walker and James Fair pointed out what they called weak spots in the prosecution's arguments over a series of hours Tuesday.

Of all the men on trial, 29-year-old Fair, of Asbury Park, is named in more than 100 charges, which is the vast majority of the charges in an indictment that started with 219 counts. As the trial has progressed through the summer, some charges were dismissed against the defendants.

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Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Matthew Bogner delivers his closing argument during the ‘Dead End’ trial held before Superior Court Judge Joseph W. Oxley in Freehold Wednesday, August 29, 2017. On trial are James Fair, Haneef Walker and former Asbury Park Police officer Keith German.
, 25, of Asbury Park. Previous coverage has Walker's age listed as 24, but he recently had his birthday. Fair's attorney is Jeffrey Coghlan. Walker's attorney is George Mardinly. German's attorney is Robert Ward. The assistant prosecutors are Joseph Cummings and Matthew Bogner. Joseph W. Oxley is the judge. Courtroom is on the second floor, to the right when coming off the elevators. - Katie Park(Photo: Thomas P. Costello)

Fair's attorney, Jeff Coughlin, addressed sets of charges and argued against them in front of the jury. Coughlin challenged accusations of robbery, felony burglary, home invasion and attempted murder.

Coughlin disputed the sequence of events in an alleged 2013 robbery at Centerfolds, a Keyport strip club and a felony burglary at an apartment in which Fair purportedly stole cocaine.

In both cases, Coughlin called into question the credibility of the witnesses who reported the incidents to the prosecutors. Coughlin specifically called out witnesses Ciara Williams, 24, who is Fair's ex-girlfriend and the mother of Fair's young daughter, and Humphrey Mitchell, the alleged victim in the Centerfolds robbery who was let out from behind bars the day after he testified this summer.

Authorities said Williams was with Fair when she shoplifted from stores, sometimes sold drugs for Fair and helped him burglarize various places.

Williams pleaded guilty to a number of criminal offenses and could have been subjected up to 35 years in prison, Coughlin said, but after she testified against Fair for the state, prosecutors cut a deal in which Williams faced only a probationary term.

"This is another deal with the devil," is what it is," Coughlin said.

As he previously said in court, Coughlin repeated on Tuesday that Fair is a "low-level drug dealer," but not a criminal mastermind.

Coughlin reiterated that Fair was simply a petty street dealer when he referenced one of the charges in the indictment that charged Fair with racketeering.

"We didn't have organization — we had disorganization," Coughlin said, adding that the members of the alleged crime "network" did not show qualities of an organized crime setup. "They're not coordinating their efforts. There's no fixed price."

"Do you see discrete roles? Do you see an organization? Where is the head of the organization?" Coughlin said rhetorically.

The other two defense attorneys argued for their respective clients by various logical means.

Walker's attorney, George Mardinly, said the state unfairly sought to punish Walker, 25, when hardly any witnesses of the dozens called to the stand over the course of the trial identified Walker as a person involved with crime.

And Robert Ward, the attorney for German, a former Asbury Park police officer accused of tipping off gang members, said his client's purported illegal activity hardly registered as criminal offenses.

"Hell, he thought he was helping people," Ward said of German, who was a 16-year veteran of the Asbury Park Police Department.

For minutes, Mardinly steadily listed witnesses who prosecutors called to the stand in the trial and said the witnesses either never mentioned Walker in their testimony or hardly mentioned Walker.

Mardinly downplayed Walker's involvement in the alleged crime ring and said Fair and Altyreek Leonard, an alleged gang leader in Asbury Park, were much to blame for the crime.

"He has a hand in everything," Matthew Bogner, an assistant prosecutor for the state, said of Walker, adding that the Asbury Park resident was the leader of a set of the Crips.

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Former Asbury Park Police officer Keith German’s attorney Robert Ward is shown as he delivers his closing arguments held before Superior Court Judge Joseph W. Oxley in Freehold Wednesday, August 29, 2017. German is on trial along with James Fair and Haneef Walker. Thomas P. Costello

Haneef Walker’s attorney George Mardinly is shown during closing arguments held before Superior Court Judge Joseph W. Oxley in Freehold Wednesday, August 29, 2017. Walker is on trial along with James Fair and Former Asbury Park Police officer Keith German. Thomas P. Costello

Superior Court Judge Joseph W. Oxley addresses the jury before closing arguments were delivered in Freehold Wednesday, August 29, 2017. Former Asbury Park Police officer Keith German is on trial along with James Fair and Haneef Walker. Thomas P. Costello

Former Asbury Park Police officer Keith German’s attorney Robert Ward is shown as he delivers his closing arguments held before Superior Court Judge Joseph W. Oxley in Freehold Wednesday, August 29, 2017. German is on trial along with James Fair and Haneef Walker. Thomas P. Costello

Former Asbury Park Police officer Keith German is shown with his attorney Robert Ward during closing arguments held before Superior Court Judge Joseph W. Oxley in Freehold Wednesday, August 29, 2017. German is on trial along with James Fair and Haneef Walker. Thomas P. Costello

Haneef Walker is shown with his attorney George Mardinly during closing arguments held before Superior Court Judge Joseph W. Oxley in Freehold Wednesday, August 29, 2017. Walker is on trial along with James Fair and Keith German. Thomas P. Costello

James Fair is shown during closing arguments held before Superior Court Judge Joseph W. Oxley in Freehold Wednesday, August 29, 2017. Fair is on trial along with Former Asbury Park Police officer Keith German and Haneef Walker. Thomas P. Costello

James Fair is shown during closing arguments held before Superior Court Judge Joseph W. Oxley in Freehold Wednesday, August 29, 2017. Fair is on trial along with Former Asbury Park Police officer Keith German and Haneef Walker. Thomas P. Costello

James Fair is shown during closing arguments held before Superior Court Judge Joseph W. Oxley in Freehold Wednesday, August 29, 2017. Fair is on trial along with Former Asbury Park Police officer Keith German and Haneef Walker. Thomas P. Costello

Former Asbury Park Police officer Keith German is shown with his attorney Robert Ward during closing arguments held before Superior Court Judge Joseph W. Oxley in Freehold Wednesday, August 29, 2017. German is on trial along with James Fair and Haneef Walker. Thomas P. Costello

Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Matthew Bogner delivers his closing argument during the ‘Dead End’ trial held before Superior Court Judge Joseph W. Oxley in Freehold Wednesday, August 29, 2017. On trial are James Fair, Haneef Walker and former Asbury Park Police officer Keith German.
, 25, of Asbury Park. Previous coverage has Walker's age listed as 24, but he recently had his birthday. Fair's attorney is Jeffrey Coghlan. Walker's attorney is George Mardinly. German's attorney is Robert Ward. The assistant prosecutors are Joseph Cummings and Matthew Bogner. Joseph W. Oxley is the judge. Courtroom is on the second floor, to the right when coming off the elevators. - Katie Park Thomas P. Costello

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Bogner also challenged the credibility of the state's witnesses, which Coughlin had challenged.

"This is the hand the state has been dealt," Bogner said. No one coached the witnesses about what to say and witnesses reported what they knew, he said.

Of those people who testified for the state, they got deals "relative to their involvement," Bogner said. People who were convicted of more serious offenses also received plea deals, but were not able to avoid prison time.

Bogner was the last attorney to speak Tuesday afternoon. As the trial ends, prosecutors for the state will have the last word, as it's the state's burden to prove guilt.

But about half an hour before Bogner spoke, Coughlin maintained the state was trying to stretch the law to fit allegations.

But Coughlin, directly facing the jury, asked them to adhere to their responsibility of being just and impartial in the trial.

"I just ask you to be fair and careful to my guy, Fair," Coughlin said, before returning to his seat.